for computer technology. newswatch is coming up in about ten minutes, but first, click. in the middle of the otherworldly landscape of iceland, something strange is going on. 130,000 barley plants are slowly making their way from one end of this greenhouse to the other. what's even stranger is what this barley is going to be used for. it is in the food chain, but it's not food for us and it's not food for animals. no, this is something much, much weirder than that. this grass is a host. it's been genetically modified to carry a special protein called a growth factor in its seeds. once the plants reach the end of theirjourney, these seeds are harvested, milled and purified. and the resulting growth factor protein can be used to help produce something very unexpected... meat — in a lab... ..without the animals! i think we've reached the point where it's not like nice to have. i think it's we have it. the earth is not going to grow, we're not going to get more out of agricultural area. the population is rising and we have to feed all of the people. the argument for growing meat in labs without living animals is that the process will eventually require less land, less energy and produce less harmful waste. and it takes more agricultural land to grow feed for the animals that we eat. we are essentially bypassing that, so we don't have to kill all these animals. we just have to take the stem cell from them. and i think this is a more viable and more environmental, a much better option. companies using cow stem cells to make lab—grown beef burgers and even lab—grown steak are already trying out growth factors made here in iceland. and although the first ever growth factors came from animals, it's hoped that this barley plant method will be cheaper and scalable, because nature can do a lot of the heavy lifting. but at the moment, research is still ongoing to come up with the barley that produces the very best growth factors, which is why the volcanic and geothermal peculiarities of iceland are an ideal place to experiment with different growing conditions. like growing the barley in this, which is volcanic pumice from mount hekla, which is somewhere over there. the good thing about pumice is, it is inert, so it doesn't really release any nutrients into the plants itself. and that means these guys can completely control the nutrient mix that the barley gets. we are here in the high tech greenhouse that is using geothermal energy for heating and for the electricity. we are using hydroponic cultivation. the computer decides when to open windows, when to turn off the lights went to pump in c02, what nutrition to feed these plants, and so forth. but eventually these carefully programmed plants will have to be harvested in regular fields to produce enough growth factorfor a global lab—grown meat industry. and barley specifically chosen because it can grow in many different climates and it also doesn't cross pollinate with other plants around it. the typicalfarm in iceland, which is about 150 hectares, could actually produce about 10,000 tonnes of meat. that's if lab—grown meat is indeed the answer. after all, aren't we all supposed to be eating more greens? well, not too far away, another company is tapping into iceland's geothermal power to put us on an altogether different diet. this is food for us, or at least it will be one day. it's not something we're currently used to eating, mind you, but, tastes change. it's algae. i know, it sounds kind of yuck, doesn't it? but the micro algae growing in these test units are rich in protein and 0mega3, much more so than traditional crops grown in a field. and they also consume way fewer natural resources, too. in these systems, we can grow a ton of protein and using three, four, 500 times less water and 14, 1500 times less land than the best thing that we know today. and in fact, because algae is a plant, it has another environmental benefit — photosynthesis. we get the c02 from the power plant, we get that into our system. we use algae to actually fix that co2 into biomass and they breathe out oxygen. so oxygen is actually our only by—product of this plant. which is not a bad by—product, really. the health authorities don't seem to mind. laughter. so right here in geothermal iceland, where electricity and hot water are both essentially clean, green and on tap, growing this algae ends up being carbon negative. it pulls more c02 out of the environment than the electricity puts back in. but in order to feed the world, these algae farms would need to be placed around the globe and not everywhere�*s on top of the volcano. the system itself is always carbon negative, because we take in c02, we fix it in biomass and we breathe out oxygen. but if you're having to use electricity that's generated through coal, then the system is generating c02 as well. yes, yes. and then you connect the pipe from the power station straight back into the algae, to suck it back in? that that is actually a possibility. this is what we're doing right now. these guys, they need c02. so we could actually take whatever c02 into the system, theoretically. and in fact, vaxer is thinking even further ahead than just improving the environment here on earth. growing food in small spaces with limited water and producing oxygen as a by—product sounds like a pretty useful thing to be able to do, i don't know, in a moon base or on mars if the colonists can stomach it. all right, let me ask you a question, what does algae taste like? basically, the medium engine, so this algae is a cold seawater, algae, salty, so it's. yeah, the problem is this one is fairly robust. it's called nanoproducts. so fairly robust. you mean a tough chew? it's a tough chew. 0k, i've been made an offer that i can't refuse. he said, would you like to drink some algate? of course i would. oh, my life, for real? i could do it little having a laugh. i can do it first. yes, fishy. need to lie down afterwards, that's it. ok, maybe it will take a more creative shift for me to be able to sell this straight onto the plate. this is x—wing, the company that has developed adult ominous flying machine that does everything. the system is similar to self driving cars and uses a lot of the same tech like cameras and sensors to navigate the skies, while a command centre on the ground helps the autonomous system communicate with humans in air traffic control. now i am suited and booted, let see it in action. this is basically a bigger version of what they are working on, which means it will always require a safety pilot above. but the company is working to be entirely autonomous, which means none of these by the end of next year. they are hoping to get faa certification in 202a. all the human pilot on board has to do is physically turn the plane on, check all systems are go and press the button that activates the autonomous system. then it is up to the plane. it does have to liaise with the human on the ground control centre while making its way to the centre from takea. that is just to make sure it is safe to cross certain parts of the strip. during take off, it is almost like a ghost is in control, because all the parts are still moving, but i am not seeing what is moving them. you can build as _ seeing what is moving them. you can build as many _ seeing what is moving them. 7m, can build as many robots as seeing what is moving them. you. can build as many robots as you want, they all do the same thing, right? want, they all do the same thing. right?— thing, right? some of the sensors — thing, right? some of the sensors and _ thing, right? some of the sensors and cameras - thing, right? some of the sensors and cameras are | thing, right? some of the - sensors and cameras are picking up sensors and cameras are picking up is augmented over a real—time view from three cameras mounted on the exterior of the plane. the purple bits to the side of the planes in the area, the blue lines in front of the plane of the flight path. 0n front of the plane of the flight path. on our way back to base, the team decided to let me fly the plane.— base, the team decided to let me fly the plane. take control ofthe me fly the plane. take control of the aeroplane. _ me fly the plane. take control of the aeroplane. he - me fly the plane. take control of the aeroplane. he is - me fly the plane. take control of the aeroplane. he is out. me fly the plane. take control of the aeroplane. he is out of| of the aeroplane. he is out of the loop, because he doesn't know what you are doing. i don't know what i'm doing. perfect. after a quick lesson on an xbox controller, i was flying a plane for the first time ever. i was controlling the altitude in the direction, but they even let me go as far as a 45 degrees tilt. aeroplanes have been fitted with autopilot for years, but this takes it to the next level. if i was just a passenger, i would level. if i was just a passenger, iwould never level. if i was just a passenger, i would never know it was being flown autonomously. it was as smooth as any other flight i have been on. i have always wanted to get a pilot licence, but maybe tech like this means i will never need to. but it is likely aware of before we see widespread adaptation and faa approval of unmanned aircraft. and that is all we have time for in the short version of click for this week. the full—length version is brilliant, check it out on iplayer. you can catch up with our latest exploits on social media when ever you fancy. we live on youtube, facebook and instagram. thanks for watching and we will see you soon. hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. does bbc news interviewing members of the televangelist normalising their views. we speak to a reporter in afghanistan about dealing with the taliban and how safe she feels reporting from there. borisjohnson went feels reporting from there. boris johnson went to feels reporting from there. borisjohnson went to the bbc this week and so did laura kuenssberg. he personally briefed the journalists on his plane. 0n briefed the journalists on his plane. on arrival in new york, she spoke to him and she asked him about the impact of energy price rises back home. if him about the impact of energy price rises back home.- price rises back home. if you look at our — price rises back home. if you look at our ten _ price rises back home. if you look at our ten point - price rises back home. if you look at our ten point plan... | look at our ten point plan... forgive me prime minister, i think at the moment people would like to know how they are going to put food on the table in the next few weeks and months, ratherthan in the next few weeks and months, rather than thinking about a long—term ten point plan. if about a long-term ten point lan. about a long-term ten point ian, ., , ., �* 4' plan. ifi may, i don't think --eole plan. ifi may, i don't think people will— plan. ifi may, i don't think people will be _ plan. ifi may, i don't think people will be short - plan. ifi may, i don't think people will be short of - plan. if i may, i don't think. people will be short of food. sandra hickman pose this question. could you explain why it was necessary for laura kuenssberg to fly to the usa to interview the prime minister, when you already have american correspondence in place? then to ask questions totally unrelated to his visit. andrew also got in touch with the concern about laura kuenssberg's line of questioning with the prime minister. ~ , , ., minister. why did she travel all the way _ minister. why did she travel all the way across _ minister. why did she travel all the way across the - minister. why did she travel i all the way across the atlantic to new york to ask him things that could have been dealt with by a minister back at home? shouldn't the bbc be doing this a lot better? we shouldn't the bbc be doing this a lot better?— shouldn't the bbc be doing this a lot better? ~ . �* �* , a lot better? we asked bbc news for a response — a lot better? we asked bbc news for a response and _ a lot better? we asked bbc news for a response and they _ a lot better? we asked bbc news for a response and they told - for a response and they told us... as the bbc�*s political editor, laura kuenssberg covers all major political events including important state visits abroad. it is herjob to report impartial analysis of the biggest news stories of the day. those problems with energy costs and other supply issues have dominated much of the week's news bulletins. some viewers felt the bbc was making too much of the problems. sandra was one of them. i don't get why there is so much news coverage about supermarkets struggling to keep shelves full. you just feel the fire and make people panic buy. if you stop, people won't rush out and buy anything, leaving nothing on the shelves full as normal people to buy. it is down to you to just shut up. monday saw the first major expansion of the london underground the century with the opening of two new stations. david walker saw the news on his phone and he e—mailed. today's headline news on the bbc at, two new london underground stations open.

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